Projectable and retractable writing implement



Nov. 7, 1950 s. A. MARPLES 2,529,037

PROJECTABLE AND RETRACTABLE WRITING IMPLEMENT Filed June 25, 1947 lllllllllllllll l Ihvehi'oh Shaw A. Muvh Patented Nov. 7, 1950 PROJECTABLE AND RETRACTABLE WRITING IMPLEMENT Stephen Arnold Marples, Parkstone, England, assignor to R. M. Marples and Son Limited, Parkstone, England Application June 25, 1947, Serial No. 756,871 In Great Britain June 28, 1946 9 Claims.

I implement comprising a hollow body portion or barrel, a slide member movable axially Within said hollow body portion or barrel to propel a lead or other element, a wheel for actuating said slide member and having a toothed, milled or roughened periphery, a part of which engages the inner surface of said hollow body portion or barrel and a part of which projects through a slot formed longitudinally in the wall of said hollow body portion or barrel to permit actuation of said Wheel.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood one particular construction of propelling pencil constructed in accordance therewith will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of the pencil;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and I Figure 4 is a part sectional view of a detail on an enlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a detailed view of a modification.

Referring to these drawings the pencil comprises a main hollow body portion or barrel 4 which has screwed into one end the usual conical point section 5, through which the lead projects, and is provided at the opposite end with a head or cap 6 which is also screwed into the barrel 4.

Mounted within the barrel 4 so as to be longitudinally slidable therein is a slide member I which carries the pencil lead 8. This slide member is provided with a portion la adapted to frictionally grip one end of the lead 8 and is formed with a longitudinal slot 9, extending over a part of its length, and a transverse groove iii.

in position in the said slot 9 by its axle or hub member l2 which is seated in the transverse vMounted in the slot 9 is a wheel I l which is held groove I l], the latter forming a bearing for the wheel axle or hub. The wheel H is formed with a toothed, milled or knurled periphery which engages a rack or the like I3 mounted on or formed in the inner wall of the barrel 4. Diametrically opposite the rack it the barrel d is provided with a longitudinal slot i i extending over the greater part of the length of the barrel l, and through which a part of the periphery of the wheel H projects as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

In operation the lead 8 is advanced into position for use, or retracted into the hollow body or barrel 1, by means of the wheel h which, when rotated in the direction of the arrow (Figure l) by n'ieans of its protruding periphery will travel along the rack i3 and carry with it the slide member if whereby the lead 8 will be advanced.

The rack it maybe arranged in any suitable manner, for example it may consist of a transversely ribbed strip fitted into the barrel but is conveniently formed by ribs cut in the inner wall of the barrel i and is preferably formed by an ordinary internal screw thread 20 extending throughout the length of the barrel as shown in Figure 5 which discloses a modification.

When the pencil is in use, that is when pressure is applied to the point thereof, the lead will normally be prevented from being forced back into the' barrel by the friction between the sides of the actuating wheel H and the walls of the slot it through which it projects and also the friction between the toothed or milled periphery of the wheel and the rack It; also a certain degree of friction will exist between the slide memher 1 and the inner wall of the barrel l. In order to ensure that the lead is prevented from being pressed back into the barrel when the pencil is in use any suitable stop means may be provided for locking the wheel H, and thus also the slide member 7, when pressure is applied to the point of the lead, and releasing the wheel and slide when pressure is removed from the point. An example of a suitable automatic stop for this purpose is illustrated in Figure 4. In this arrangement a locking pin I5 is arranged to be moved into engagement with the toothed periphery of the wheel H, under pressure of the lead 8, when pressure is applied to the point of the pencil and to be removed from engagement with the actuating wheel by a light spring I8 when pressure is removed from the lead. The locking pin [5 is slidably mounted in a bore in the slide member 1 and is provided with a head I6 against which the end of the lead 8 abuts and between the head 16 and a shoulder I9 is a light helical spring which tends to urge the locking pin away from the actuating wheel H. The end of the locking pin which is adapted to engage the toothed or milled periphery of the wheel II is preferably given a wedge shape as shown. In some cases the spring may be omitted, and the disengagement of the locking pin [5 is effected by the simple operation of the wheel by the user.

An important advantage of the writing implement according to the invention is that the propulsion or retraction of the lead or the like can be effected readily with the finger of one hand, thus making the use of the implement more convenient; furthermore in the case of fountain pens and stylographic pens the usual protective cover can be dispensed with and the nib or the like can be withdrawn into the barrel after use with one movement and is readily propelled again into the writing position.

Although the invention has been described as applied to propelling pencils it must be understood that it is not limited to pencils, but, as mentioned above, may be applied to a holder for carrying a pen, eraser, knife blade or any other implement of known type which is normally required to be arranged in a holder.

I claim:

1. A writing implement comprising a hollow body portion or barrel, a slide member movable axially within said hollow body portion or bar.- rel to propel a lead or other element, a wheel for actuating said slide member and preferably having a toothed, milled or roughened periphery, a part of which engages the inner surface of said hollow body portion or barrel and a part of which projects through a slot formed longitudinally in the wall of said hollow body portion or barrel to permit actuation of said wheel.

2. A writing implement according to claim 1, wherein the slide member is provided with a longitudinal slot for receiving the actuating wheel and a transverse groove forming a seating or bearing for the axle or hub of said actuating wheel.

3. A writing implement comprising a hollow body portion, a slide member movable axially within said hollow portion to propel a lead or other element, a wheel for actuating said slide member, said wheel provided with a toothed periphery, a part of which engages the inner surface of said hollow body portion and a part of which projects through a slot formed longitudinally in the wall of said hollow body portion to permit actuation of said wheel, and a rack in the inner wall of the hollow body portion engaged by said toothed wheel.

4. The structure of claim 3, wherein the rack with which the actuating wheel engages is an internal thread formed in the inner wall of the hollow body portion extending throughout the length of said body portion.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein the slide member and wheel assembly is provided with means for preventing the lead or other element from being forced back out of operative position into the hollow body portion when pressure is applied to the point.

6. The structure of claim 1, said slide member provided with spring means for automatically locking the actuating wheel when pressure is applied to the point and releasing the wheel when pressure is removed from the point.

'7. A writing implement comprising a barrel, a slide member movable axially within said barrel to propel a lead or other element, a wheel journaled in said slide member, a part of which wheel engages the inner surface of said barrel and a part of which projects through a slot formed longitudinally in the wall of said barrel to permit actuation of the wheel and the slide memher.

8. The structure of claim '7, and means carried by said slide member for locking the actuating wheel when pressure is applied to the point and releasing the wheel when pressure is removed from the point.

9. A writing implement comprising a barrel, a slide member movable axially within said barrel to propel a lead or other element, a wheel connected to said slide member and movable therewith for actuating said slide member, a part of which wheel engages the inner surface of said barrel and a part of which projects through a slot formed longitudinally in the wall of said barrel to permit actuation of said wheel.

STEPHEN ARNOLD MARPLES.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Mackay Mar. 19, 1929 Number 

